Nongfu Spring Co., one of China’s biggest bottled-water suppliers, is planning to launch a “luxury” line of mineral-water products amid growing anxiety in China about water and food safety, according to a Securities Daily report Wednesday.
Category: Food
Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Food and Food & Beverage news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.
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Japan’s fast-food chains face new headache
Already reeling from a handful of scandals, Japan’s fast-food industry faces a new problem: diners are no longer heading out for meals like they used to.
“Japanese consumers are choosing to buy their meals at convenience stores and eat at home,” said Japan Food Analyst Association (JFAA) chairman Hiroyuki Kamiya.
While the trend started a few years ago as convenience stores introduced new product lines, the consumption tax hike to 8 percent from 5 percent last April that pushed the economy into a technical recession and a string of employee exploitation scandals have accelerated the trend, he said.
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McDonald’s names new CEO, CFO
McDonald’s said on Wednesday that Don Thompson will retire as President and CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors after nearly 25 years of service to the company, effective on 1 March. The Board has elected Steve Easterbrook to replace Thompson as President and CEO. Easterbrook was also elected to the Board of Directors, filling the vacancy created by Thompson.
Prior to this promotion, Easterbrook was Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, leading McDonald’s efforts to elevate its marketing, advance menu innovation, and create an infrastructure for its digital initiatives. An accomplished, McDonald’s veteran, Easterbrook previously served in key leadership roles across the company’s global business, including president of McDonald’s Europe.
In addition, Pete Bensen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is promoted to the newly-created role of Chief Administrative Officer. In his new position reporting to Easterbrook, Bensen will oversee a number of functions supporting the company’s operations. Kevin Ozan, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller, will succeed Bensen and is promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
As CFO, Ozan will report to Bensen and will be responsible for managing the global financial organisation and leading the development and execution of the company’s fiscal strategies. Ozan brings broad financial experience and has held senior-level positions in the company’s Finance, Investor Relations and Accounting departments with assignments in both the US and European markets.
The McDonald’s Board of Directors on Wednesday elected Bensen and Ozan to their respective positions, which will also be effective on 1 March.
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Supermarket giants’ push into healthfood gets boost
Coles’ and Woolworths’ push into the healthfoods category has been bolstered by a global survey underlining the strength of consumer demand for healthier packaged and fresh foods.
According to research firm Nielsen, about 71 percent of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region are changing their diets to lose weight and 25 to 40 percent are more than willing to pay a premium for foods that are free from artificial colours, flavours and gluten, low in fat and salt, and higher in protein and fibre. In Australia, more than half (56 percent) of consumers believe they are overweight and 78 percent believe changing their diet is more important than exercising.
This behaviour is underpinning strong growth in the healthfoods category and prompting Coles and Woolworths to boost their offers by creating health food “destinations” within stores – increasing shelf space, expanding the number of products, and building private label brands.
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Wings chain lands in Philippines
US-based Buffalo Wild Wings opened its first restaurant in the Philippines on Thursday, (January 29).
The new restaurant at Capitol Commons in Pasig City is the first of several to open in the Southeast Asian country, joining more than 1070 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in North America.
“Between our fresh, diverse menu and sports centric dining experience, we are confident that Filipinos will enjoy this new option for watching their favorite sporting events,” said Sally Smith, CEO and president.
Aside from delivering on its mantra of ‘Wings. Beer. Sports.’ Buffalo Wild Wings locations will feature the company’s new restaurant design, which provides the ultimate sports viewing experience while bringing the look and feel of the stadium experience into the restaurant.
The Philippines is the third overseas market the chain is expanding into, after Canada and Mexico.
“What we’ve found through our international expansion is that true passion for sports and the camaraderie that comes with watching a big game with family and friends is a universal phenomenon,” said Smith.
Buffalo Wild Wings serves Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings, available in 21 signature sauces and seasonings, ranging from Sweet BBQ to Blazin’. It also offers a full menu of burgers, appetisers and thin-crust flatbreads, all designed to be shared with friends, and a wide selection of beers.
Each restaurant has an extensive multi-media system that features large wall-to-wall high-definition televisions for excellent sports viewing.
The Pasig City restaurant is operated by The Bistro Group, which currently owns and operates 10 restaurant concepts, a culinary centre (The Bistro Academy) comprised of international franchises, as well as homegrown brands. The franchise group expects to open multiple Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in the Philippines over the coming years.
Buffalo Wild Wings will soon expand into Dubai and Saudi Arabia later in 2015 and is eyeing other international market opportunities.
“As we explore new markets, we take the time to learn about the countries, cultures and potential partners,” said Smith. “We’re pleased to be working with a franchise partner in the Philippines who understands the needs and interests of this dynamic, evolving market, as well as our target guest, and shares our philosophy of bringing people together through great food and sports.”
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Hawaiian coffee concept lands in Seoul
A Hawaiian coffee concept already popular in Tokyo has now made its debut in Korea.
Lanai Cafe is a Hawaiian Kona Coffee shop serving coffee, pancakes, desserts and drinks.
Kona is ranked as one of the world’s top three coffee beans alongside Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kenyan Kilimanjaro. It is brewed by pour over for each cup which draws its unique aroma and flavour.
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Carrefour Indonesia adopts new POS tech
German tech company Wirecard has teamed up with an Indonesian bank to roll out new point-of-sale technology for Carrefour Indonesia.
Wirecard, with its Indonesian subsidiary PT Prima Vista Solusi and Bank Mega have joined forces to support Carrefour Indonesia with innovative Point-of-Sale (POS) solution with integrated payment capability. Customers in all Indonesian Carrefour retail stores will be able to pay contactless with their NFC cards, credit cards or debit cards.
The new system is chip and PIN ready, and enriched with value-added services such as installment payment and loyalty. Wirecard provides the complete technical infrastructure, which is integrated in the front-end store system at the retail stores, as well as the online payment processing over the Wirecard gateway, whereas Bank Mega is credit card acquirer.
Carrefour Indonesia has almost 100 hypermarkets in 13 Indonesian provinces under the ownership of PT Trans Retail Indonesia. It serves some 500,000 customers each day, offering groceries, fresh products, electronics, cosmetics, textile and many other consumer products. Siva Kumar, commercial and marketing director with PT Trans Retail Indonesia said the company feels committed to restoring its customers’ purchasing power in Indonesia.
“To make this possible, we offer them a full one-stop-shopping experience through our products and support them with best-in-breed and secure payment technology from Bank Mega and Wirecard.”
Bank Mega operates 344 branches nationwide in Indonesia, including issuing and acquiring credit card, debit card as well as its stored-value contactless payment card MegaCash. In addition, Bank Mega serves its customers through electronic banking, eCommerce and POS solutions at merchants.
Mirtha Rahman, group head card sales and marketing with PT Bank Mega Tbk said the company looked forward to working together on further future projects.
Wirecard AG is an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions.
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Starbucks’ breathtaking ‘Shrine to Coffee’
Lovingly carved into a handsome thick timber bench at the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room in Seattle is a Victor Hugo quote: “There is nothing like a dream to create the future”.
It serves as a mantra for this ambitious ultra flagship, meant to be the forerunner of 100 Roastery cafes across the US. For this indeed is a dream brought to life with breathtaking scale, incredible quality, and painstaking detail.
The “shrine to coffee” (as it was referred to in Wired Magazine) sits at the base of Seattle’s hipster Capitol Hill and is massive – 15,000sqft (or about 1500sqm). It’s designed to be a “totally immersive experience” (a retail cliché, which in this case is an accurate description).
As a customer, you literally walk into a scrupulously clean, polished to within an inch of its life coffee bean roasting plant. You are greeted by a kind of coffee maître de and order your beverage from a restaurant-like menu on a clipboard – specifying your preferred bean, naturally.
Food is also on the menu, and I selected a pretzel sesame seed bagel with smashed edamame mixed with mint and lemon, to accompany my Colombian Americano. (The premiumisation of everything is somewhat hilarious. How did we get to this? What ever happened to a cup of Joe and a plain bagel and cream cheese?)
The service is a little slow (it takes longer to order craft coffee), so while I waited I was able to absorb the space and fitout. From the gleaming copper roasting kettle to the leather curtains; from the blackboard illustrations to the manifesto on entry (“every cup we’ve ever served has led us here”), Starbucks Reserve Roastery is seriously impressive. (If you’re hungry for more than a snack, there is also a Serious Pie gourmet pizza restaurant on the premises.)
My only reservation is that by the time my coffee arrived, my expectations were through the (cavernous) roof. While the food was delicious, the coffee was, well… still Starbucks. Coming from Australia, I like my coffee strong and flavorful, and this was just a little “meh”.
Nevertheless, Starbucks Reserve Roastery is remarkable, and well worth a visit. The single star motif above the signature ‘R’ should really be five stars.
On my way out, I noticed another quote embedded into the bench where a barista was hard at work: “Crafted by hand and heart.” That sums up the love that has gone into this store – led by designer Liz Muller and CEO, Howard Schultz. God is in the details, and they have most of the details absolutely right.
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Massive 7-Eleven rollout planned
Listed Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC), the local licensee of 7-Eleven Convenience Stores, will boost its capital spend this year by 50 per cent to expand its network.
The company says it ended 2014 with 1282 stores – 273 more than at the same time a year earlier. It opened 286 and closed 13 during the year.
Now it says it will spend P3 billion (US$68 million) in 2015 to fund an “accelerated store expansion strategy”.
Some 350 stores could be added by the end of the calendar year with PSC eager to take the brand further beyond metro Manila.
Jose Victor Paterno, president and CEO, said the long-term growth prospects for convenience store retailing in the nation are favorable.
He believes the organisation can sustain its momentum to meet earnings and store expansion goals.
“PSC has taken steps to protect and expand its leadership in light of increased competition, recognising that rewards for market share are especially strong in the convenience store sector.”
Philippine Seven Corporation operates the largest convenience store network in the country. It acquired the licence for 7-Eleven in the Philippines from Southland Corporation (now Seven Eleven Inc.) of Dallas, Texas in December 1982.
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Goubuli runs Australian coffee chain
Goubuli, a renowned Chinese restaurant chain known for its steamed stuffed buns, said they sealed a deal with Gloria Jean’s Coffees to operate the Australian brand in China.
Tianjin Senyongtai Food and Beverage Co, a subsidiary wholly owned by the Goubuli Group, will hold an 80 percent stake in “Tianjin Glory”, a new joint venture that will operate Gloria Jean’s coffee brand in China under the deal reached on 25 December, Goubuli’s Board Chairman Zhang Yansen said on Wednesday.
The Australian firm will hold the remaining 20 percent, he said.
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Indonesia set to ban liquor sales in mini markets
Indonesians looking to buy a cold beer from one of the country’s ubiquitous minimarts come the end of the month will soon find themselves out of luck.
Trade Minister Rahmat Gobel has reportedly signed a regulation that will ban small, modern retail chains such as Indomaret, Alfamart, Circle K and 7-11, from selling alcoholic beverages, including beers and pre-mixed drinks with less than 5 percent alcohol.
The regulation, which local media have reported was signed by the minister on 16 Jan., affects mini markets only. Supermarkets and hypermarkets, such as Carrefour, will still be able to sell booze.
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Hooters in major Asian roll-out
Hooters of America has signed an extensive development agreement to open 30 new Hooters QSR restaurant locations throughout Southeast Asia over the next six years.
After introducing the concept to Thailand with the opening of Hooters Phuket, international franchisee Destination Resorts has set sights on Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
The initial focus will be on Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines.
Hooters is already well established through other partnerships in mainland China and Singapore.
“The moment the doors opened to Hooters Phuket we realised the tremendous opportunity to greatly broaden our efforts to develop the Hooters brand across Asia,” said Gary Murray, CEO, Destination Resorts Co.
“We pride ourselves on introducing fresh, exciting concepts to our guests, and the unparalleled Hooters dining experience fits that profile.”
Hooters, derided by many for its concept of attractive women in tight or skimpy clothing serving ordinary, primarily deep fried food to customers, appears to have exhausted its growth potential in its home market and has failed to capture customers in forays into other western market, such as Australia. Now it is eyeing Asia for growth, recognising locals are currently ready to embrace pretty much any US fast food concept or brand.
Less than a year after Hooters Girls first welcomed guests in Patong, Phuket, Destination Resorts says it will dedicate “significant capital and resources” to an expanded Hooters venture, continuing growth in Thailand and concentrating heavily on Hong Kong and the Philippines and on the other new countries.
“Destination Resorts Co. brings a wealth of hospitality and restaurant industry expertise, overseeing premier resorts and travel destinations in multiple Asian markets,” said Mark Whittle, senior VP of global development with Hooters of America.
“Following the warm welcome of Hooters Phuket, we’re confident our franchise partner will realise continued success as we work together to spread Hooters wings in additional markets.”
Headquartered in Bangkok, Destination Resorts is also behind DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Phuket t Surin Beach, DusitD2 Phuket Resort, Sri Racha International Golf at Sri Racha Hills, Hard Rock Café Phuket at Patong Beach, Novotel Phuket Karon Beach Resort & Spa, Novotel Hua Hin Cha Am Beach Resort & Spa, Swissotel Resort Phuket and Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok Sukhumvit 15.
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Aussie sushi chain lands in Hong Kong
An Australian sushi restaurant chain has opened its first outlet in Hong Kong.
And now Wasabi Warriors plans more stores in the city, along with expansion into the Philippines in February and Dubai later in the year.
Hong Kong ‘Business Warrior’ Elga Wong said response to the first store’s opening was overwhelming.
“It’s been so busy I haven’t even had a minute to catch my breath.
“The experience has been phenomenal and we’ve received extremely positive feedback from customers with fresh and tasty being the most common words heard on the opening day.”
Wasabi Warriors is owned by Australia’s Pacific Retail Brands, which also has Go Sushi and Kick! Juice Bars in its portfolio. The sushi concept is very environmentally focused, carefully sourcing ingredients from carefully selected suppliers. Using sustainable, free range and locally sourced authentic sushi, the brand says in Hong Kong it is staying true to its cause to ‘Eat good, Do good, Feel good’ by honouring their commitment to the ocean, earth and the animals.
The chain’s menu includes freshly made sushi rolls, packs, gyozas and dragon bites.
The Hong Kong store is on the ground floor of World Trust Tower, 50 Stanley St, in Central.
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Starbucks names Kevin Johnson President and COO
Starbucks has appointed Kevin Johnson as president and chief operating officer effective 1 March.
Johnson, who has been a Starbucks board member since 2009, will lead the company’s global operating businesses across the Americas, EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa), and China/Asia Pacific, as well as Starbucks supply chain, information technology, and mobile and digital platforms.
“I am looking forward to working with him and our strongest management team in the company’s 44-year history,” Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and CEO.
Johnson served as chief executive officer of Juniper Networks Inc., from September 2008 through December 2013. Prior to that, he served as the president of the Platforms Division at Microsoft Corporation and was a member of Microsoft’s senior leadership team and held a number of senior executive positions over the course of his 16 years at Microsoft.
Prior to joining Microsoft in 1992, he worked for International Business Machine Corp.’s systems integration and consulting business. In 2008, Johnson was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) where he served through the end of 2013.
“Over the past six years I have gotten to know the company well and I look forward to extending my 33 years of operating experience to help propel Starbucks to the next decade of growth and innovation. I am honored and humbled to join Starbucks, a company that I love, during this important time,” Johnson said.
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Haagen-Dazs to target China’s coffee drinkers
Haagen-Dazs has launched a new line of coffee at its stores in China to capture a piece of the country’s quickly growing coffee market.
The introduction of the “rainbow latte”, a mix of Haagen-Dazs ice cream and illy coffee, served in uniquely designed hand-blown glass cups, is the culmination of several years of planning by the ice cream chain. The company also plans to open stand-alone Haagen-Dazs coffee shops to diversify beyond the ice cream market